This invention relates in general to encoding and decoding devices and, more particularly, to devices and methodology which are employed for data compression and decompression of binary codes.
Many recent advances have been made in data storage and communications media. However, the explosive proliferation of information and the continuous growth of data applications are outgrowing technological advances in storage devices and communication tools. Data compression offers an attractive approach to alleviate many of the problems associated with data proliferation. Among its many benefits are reduction in data storage requirements, reduction in the cost of communication within distributed networks, reduction in the cost of backup and recovery in computer systems, increased security and efficient search operations on compressed index structures of files. In recent years, the demand for data compression and the need to develop faster and more efficient compression methods have increased considerably due to the increased usage of data compression with scientific and statistical databases, document delivery systems and communication networks.